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A glimpse of DC poetry (though which?) as filtered through DC crime fiction: Two doors down was a combination lunch counter, bar, and arts house called the District Seen, where one could get a decent sandwich, listen to some music, and hear anything from readings by modernist beat poets to a capella new wave. Though the acts more often than not were sophomoric, there was that sad and noble quality in them of the intrepid amateur. From A Firing Offense (1992).